My journey through photography

Red belly revealed

I am rarely able to see the red belly of the Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) that I occasionally spot, but the light was coming from the right direction on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refugeto illuminate the reddish-brown color of this woodpecker’s belly.

When I first started taking photos of birds, I remember seeing the bright red color of a woodpecker like this one and thinking it must be called a “red-headed woodpecker.” I am somewhat more knowledgeable about birds now and have a greater appreciation for the difficulties associated with identifying them. In particular, I have learned that you often cannot rely on the name of a bird to identify its key features.

Red belly or not, I knew what this bird was as soon as I saw it, but it was nevertheless wonderful that it chose to pose so nicely for me. One of my Facebook viewers said that it reminded her of a similar pose in the movie The Lion King. It turns out that The Lion King is one of my favorite movies, and I was thrilled when I just now watched a You Tube video of The Circle of Life, one of the songs in the movie that features the rock outcropping that looks like the branch in my photo. I was particularly drawn to the beauty of the birds in the opening moments of the video. It is worth checking out if you have never seen it before or even if you have.